Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented in
Amharic and English,
with subtitles
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Greetings noble viewers.
The Queen of Sheba was
a legendary monarch
of ancient Ethiopia
who is referred to
in just four sources:
the history of the
ancient Habeshan people
of Ethiopia, the Hebrew
Bible (Old Testament
of the Christian Bible),
the New Testament of
the Christian Bible,
and the Holy Qur’an.
Who is she, the famous
yet mysterious Queen
of Sheba of Ethiopia?
Today’s program will
explore the story of
an individual whose life
is not known in full detail.

What we do see clearly
is that Makeda, as she is
known in Ethiopia, was
single-minded in her life.
That is, she was
in single-minded pursuit
of one goal: wisdom.
The following words
are attributed to
the Queen of Sheba,
or Makeda,
in the Kebra Nagast.
The Kebra Nagast is
a historical account of the
ancient rulers of Ethiopia
and is also called
“The Book of
the Glory of Kings.”
Makeda, whose name
means “Greatness,”
is said to have explained
to her subjects why
she was departing the land
in order to seek out
the wise King Solomon
of Jerusalem.

She said,
“I desire wisdom and
my heart seeks to
find understanding.
I am smitten with
the love of wisdom....
for wisdom is far better
than treasure of
gold and silver...
It is a source of joy
for the heart, and
a bright and shining light
for the eyes, and a giver
of speed to the feet, and
a shield for the chest, and
a helmet for the head...
It makes the ears to hear
and hearts to understand.”

“...And as for a kingdom,
it cannot stand
without wisdom,
and riches cannot be
preserved
without wisdom....
He who heapeth up
gold and silver doeth so
to no profit
without wisdom, but he
who heapeth up wisdom –
no man can steal it
from his heart...
I will follow
the footprints of wisdom
and she shall protect me
forever.
I will seek asylum
with her, and
she shall be unto me
power and strength.”

According to
the Kebra Nagast,
the queen’s loyal subjects
understood and
valued her pursuit of
the intangible and
answered her in this way:
“O our Lady,
as for wisdom,
it is not lacking in thee,
and it is because of
thy wisdom that
thou loved wisdom.
And as for us,
if thou goest
we will go with thee, and
if thou sittest down we
will sit down with thee;
our death shall be
with thy death, and
our life with thy life.”
The Queen of Sheba is
thought to have lived
in the 10th century BC.

According to
the Ethiopian historical
book, which is called
“Kebra Nagast”
in Amharic or
“The Glory of Kings”
in English,
the Queen of Sheba was
an Ethiopian queen who
lived around Axum
in her special town,
which was called
Debra Makeda.

Sheba was
a prosperous kingdom.
Through the use of
dams and wells and
excellent water
management techniques,
there was enough
food and water in Sheba
to meet all needs.
Sheba was blessed with
gold, precious stones
like sapphires, spices,
and other valuables
sought after
by neighboring lands.
Thus, according to
the Kebra Nagast,
the Queen of Sheba
came to know of
another legendary ruler
of the time,
King Solomon,
through trade.

Once upon a time,
there was a businessman
named Tamrin, who
informed the queen (that)
King Solomon was
a very wise king.
After the queen heard
the good news of
King Solomon,
she was so impressed
by his wisdom
and she decided to
pay him a visit.
So it’s believed that she
traveled to Jerusalem
to see the wisdom
of the king.

The Queen of Sheba's
desire to know wisdom
was so strong that she
traveled approximately
2,300 km
across the Middle East
to Jerusalem
to meet King Solomon.
She brought vast wealth
to present to
King Solomon – such as
gold, precious stones,
furniture and spices.
Upon arriving,
the queen was given
a royal welcome
by the gracious king.
It is said that Makeda
tested King Solomon
repeatedly to truly
confirm he was the man
of wisdom
all said that he was.

One example is that
she presented him with
the trunk of a cedar tree,
with both ends made
to look identical.
She then challenged him
to tell her which end
was the root end and
which was the end
furthest from the root.
King Solomon
took the wood and
put it into water.
The root end sank as it is
the heavier end – thus
giving him the answer.

In a theological riddle,
the queen asked:
“What is the ugliest thing
in the world, and what
is the most beautiful?
What is the most certain,
and what is
the most uncertain?”
Solomon replied,
“The ugliest thing...
is the faithful
turning unfaithful;
the most beautiful
is the repentant sinner.
The most certain is death;
the most uncertain,
one's share
in the World to Come.”
The Queen of Sheba
was impressed with
the answers
the king gave to this
and her other questions.
She had many discussions
with King Solomon and
compared his wisdom
to something akin to
“a lamp in the darkness.”

After a time,
Makeda returned
to her own country.
For her return journey,
King Solomon gave her
many expensive gifts
from his kingdom
such as gold and camels.
But more than
these material things,
her journey had been
rewarded with the most
precious treasure of all.
For while
it can be neither touched
nor measured on scales,
it was wisdom that
the Queen of Sheba
had most desired from
her pilgrimage to the land
of King Solomon.

When she reached to
Ethiopia, she gave birth
for a baby and she named
this baby Menelik,
which means
“the son of a wise king.”
When Menelik reached
the age of 22,
he started to ask his mum
who his father was,
and at the age of 22,
it’s believed that
he traveled to Jerusalem
to see his father’s land.
So according to
“The Glory of Kings,”
he stayed in Israel
for about three years.

After three years,
he was so interested
to come back
to his motherland.
He embraced Judaism
as his religion.
At the same time,
he studied Hebrew,
the language of the Jewish.
So when he was
coming back,
it’s believed that
he was accompanied by
12,000 Jewish, and
these 12,000 Jewish
were contributed from
the 12 tribes of Israel.
So it’s believed that
there were more than
300 clergymen who were
coming with Menelik.

On May 7, 2008, the
University of Hamburg
in Germany announced
that its archaeologists had
found the queen’s palace.
The discovery was made
in the northern
Ethiopian city of Axum.
They dated the structure
to the 10th century BC.
Lead archaeologist
Helmut Ziegert stated:
“From the dating, its
position and the details
that we have found,
I am sure that
this is the palace.”

The archaeologists also
say that the palace has
an altar where
the Ark of the Covenant
was once kept.
According to the Hebrew
Bible or Old Testament,
the Ten Commandments
were received by the
prophet Moses from God
and were inscribed
on stone tablets.
The tablets were put into
the “ark” which is
an acacia wood box
with gold plating.
Ethiopian tradition says
that King Solomon had
a son with the Queen of
Sheba and that the son,
Emperor Menelik I,
took the ark from
Jerusalem to Ethiopia.

Azarias, he was
the son of Zadok,
the keeper of the ark,
was coming to Ethiopia
with the king.
So it’s believed that
he took the original
Ark of the Covenant
from the temple and they
brought it to Ethiopia.
At that time,
King Solomon,
was not aware, so
this was the way how
the Ark of the Covenant
was brought to Ethiopia.

According to
the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church’s interpretation,
what we believe is that
the Ark was not just
brought by the interest of
ordinary human beings,
but it was brought
to Ethiopia
by the will of God.
Because when
the Ark of the Covenant
was coming to Ethiopia,
even the Ark performed
a lot of miracles.
So what we believe is
that God wanted Ethiopia
to be the last
resting place for
the Ark of the Covenant.
And taking
the relationship
which was between
King Solomon and
the Queen of Sheba
as pretext, the Ark was
brought to Ethiopia
by the will of God.

Here we have
a very historical
water reservoir, which is
located in the town of
Axum, and locally,
we call it Mai Shum.
When it’s translated
into English,
Mai Shum means
“water for the chief.”
According to the
Ethiopian oral traditions
or the legend around
Axum, it’s believed that
once upon a time, this
was the swimming pool
for the Queen of Sheba.
The original size
was smaller and we
have these rocky steps,
which are believed
to be original.
Especially
after the introduction of
Christianity, Epiphany
has been celebrated
for long period of time.
This day is celebrated to
commemorate the day
when John
baptized Christ
at the River Jordan.

For this reason,
annually in January 19,
the Epiphany holiday
is celebrated colorfully.
From among the elements
of the celebration,
on the eve of January 19,
the replica of
the Ark of the Covenant
is carried by the priests,
and the priests are
dressed colorfully, with
colorful vestments and
the faithful follow them.
The people,
they pray all the night
and the clergymen
perform the chanting
for all the night.
The people
even sing together.

Finally, the most
important person
from the church
blesses the water.
The candle floats over
the water surface.
Finally, the water is
sprayed over the faithful.
Then the replica of
the Ark is again
accompanied by
the people
back to its sanctuary.
We take this water
reservoir as symbol
for the River Jordan.
This day is celebrated
colorfully, especially
here in Axum, and
at the same time
at Gondar,
even at Lalibela,
where Christianity is
deep-rooted.

We thank you
for joining us today.
Now, please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television
for Words of Wisdom,
coming up next
after Noteworthy News.
May celestial ideals
adorn your lives with
light and fulfillment.